Future of Nursing Scholars grant awarded to college

RWJF announces the fifth and final cohort for innovative program

The University of South Carolina College of Nursing is one of only 31 schools of nursing
selected to receive a grant to increase the number of nurses holding PhDs. The selected
schools comprise the fifth cohort of grantees of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Future of Nursing Scholars program, which will provide financial support, mentoring, and leadership development
to nurses who commit to earn their PhD in three years. The College of Nursing will
select two students admitted for Fall 2018 to receive this prestigious scholarship.

“Our fifth cohort of Scholars will join an impressive group of nurse researchers who are already making significant
contributions to the field. This program is designed to empower nurse leaders to progress
efficiently. The selected scholars will complete their PhDs in an expedited three
year time frame,” said Julie Fairman, PhD, RN, FAAN, Future of Nursing Scholars program co-director and the Nightingale professor of nursing and the chair of the
Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania School
of Nursing.

In its landmark nursing report, the Institute of Medicine recommended that the country
double the number of nurses with doctorates. While enrollment in doctorate of nursing
practice programs has increased exponentially, PhD enrollment has seen less growth.
The Future of Nursing Scholars program was designed to increase PhD-prepared nurses. Doing so will ensure that more
nurses are conducting vital research and will also help address the nurse faculty
shortage.

“We are delighted to receive this competitive funding from the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation as our PhD in Nursing Science program is a priority in our College,” said Dr. Jeannette Andrews, dean of the USC College
of Nursing.

The Future of Nursing Scholars program is a multi-funder initiative. In addition to RWJF, Johnson & Johnson, Cincinnati
Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Sharp HealthCare, and Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center are supporting the Future of Nursing Scholars grants to schools of nursing this year.

“When this program concludes, we will have graduated more than 200 PhD prepared nurses.
RWJF is thrilled to see the program succeed so well, and we are very thankful for
the other funders who have joined us in support of this work,” said Susan Hassmiller,
PhD, RN, FAAN, co-director of the program and RWJF’s senior adviser for nursing.

For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve the
health and health care of all Americans.We are striving to build a national Culture of Health that will enable all to live
longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come.For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at www.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at www.rwjf.org/facebook.